This invention relates to polyamide compositions and more particularly to polyamides of bis(aminomethyl)tricyclodecane and polymeric fat acids or certain dicarboxylic acids derived from a fatty acid. Further the invention relates to copolymer polyamide compositions in which other dibasic acids or esters, other diamines or other amide forming derivatives such as aminoacids are employed in part for the polymeric fat acid or the fatty dicarboxylic acid. Thus the polyamides may be homopolymers (a single dicarboxylic acid and single diamine) or copolymers employing additional acids, or amines as amide forming components.
The tricyclic polyamines, such as bis(aminomethyl)tricyclodecane are known amines. U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,376 contains a discussion thereof including several end use applications. There is disclosed therein their utility as the preparation of polyamides, however, not with those of the present invention. Further U.S. Pat. No. 3,787,371, referred to in U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,376, and relates to preparation of crystal clear polyamides prepared from bis(aminomethyl)tricyclodecane and certain dicarboxylic acids, but not those of the present invention.
The polymeric fat acids have been known for some time as well as polyamides therefrom, but not however with the tricyclic amines of the present invention. As merely illustrative of some of these patents are U.S. Pat. No. 3,398,164 relating to polymeric fat acid polyamides of 1,4-bis(B-aminoethyl)benzene and Canadian Pat. No. 815,585 relating to polymeric fat acid polyamides of diamines such as 4,4'-diamino-3,3'-dimethyldicyclohexylmethane.
Dicarboxylic acids derived from fatty acids, and polyamides therefrom from amines other than those of the present invention are also known such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,688 relating to polyamide of hexamethylene diamine and U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,687 using a cyclic diamine such as bis(4-aminocyclohexyl)methane.